This
photograph engages us through the rhetorical strategies of mythos and pathos.
Mythos:
engages our sense of humanity and connection with others
Pathos: engages our feeling
Firefighters see with
death and destruction routinely in their line of work but nothing can prepare
you when you see a fatality. No matter
how many deaths a firefighter sees in his or her lifetime, they remember every
victim. They can never erase the fatal
images from their minds. They are
haunted by those images and continue to ask themselves what if I had arrived at
the scene sooner or could I have done something different to save that person.
The image above is from the Oklahoma City terrorist
bombing from April 19, 2005 where 168 people were killed and more than 680
people were injured. The little girl, an
innocent victim to this horrific crime, had just celebrated her first birthday
the day before and was critically injured in the blast. The firefighter that carried her from the
rubble was one of the last people to see her alive.
The photo captures the horror of this tragic
incident. You can see the love and compassion
on the firefighter’s face for this unknown baby, as he carries her away from
danger (pathos). The picture plays with
your emotions, and it reminds you that life is precious, don’t take another day
for granted (pathos & mythos).
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